Racing the Clock
by Katy M VT
Summary: Sequel to What if Nightshifter. The bank robbers are back for revenge. Henriksen is back for the Winchester hunt. Crossover with numb3rs.
1. Brothers

"I can't believe we're back in L.A.," Dean grumbled for the fiftieth time. He hated going back to the same place twice, but this was worse. They had been caught up in a bank robbery and been blamed for it, of course.

"Well, there's definitely something going on here. I have an appointment with a professor at Cal Sci. You check out the house," Sam said.

"Alright. Let's get this taken care of quick, so we can get out of here."

SSS

Jake and Andrew were going over their plan again. "So, we need to spring our cousin from federal custody so he can't rat us out," Jake stated the obvious.

"Yeah, so we're going to go after that fed's brother again. Plus, I'm still totally pissed off that he managed to get away with that other guy," Andrew said.

"Yeah, with our money, since it was still in the van they stole," Jake lamented.

"And they didn't even keep it. Well, anyway, we'll nab the brother, offer an exchange and as soon as Vinnie is free, we kill the curly-headed geek."

"Let's go. We know his schedule. We know when he'll be leaving to go home. It's time to move."

SSS

Sam had been at Cal Sci to talk to a mythology professor. The haunted house they were working on had symbols all over it that he and Dean had never seen before. The professor had been unable to shed any light on the situation and Sam was exiting the building hoping that maybe Dean had found something out at the house. As he reached the sidewalk, he saw a familiar face and was spotted at the same time.

"Charlie," Sam said, wondering what he should do. He knew that Charlie's brother was an FBI agent and that Charlie knew that he was on the Most Wanted List.

"Sam," Charlie said back, equally unsure of what to do. His brother would not be happy if he had known that he had run into Sam Winchester and not called the police or FBI. He didn't have to worry about it for long, though.

A van pulled up beside them and a man jumped out the open back. Both Sam and Charlie recognized him as one of the bank robbers immediately.

"Well, we weren't expecting you," Andrew leered at Sam as he pointed his gun at him.

Sam hadn't brought a gun with him to the University. He generally only carried what he thought he would need on a hunt. Dean generally brought a gun with him everywhere, but Sam had never liked the feel of a weapon on him. Now he was thinking that might be a big mistake.

Andrew fired the gun in the air, drawing the attention of milling students and professors. "Get in," he yelled, pointing it alternately at Charlie and Sam. "We wouldn't want any of these bystanders to get hurt."

Sam knew that he was serious. If he started shooting into the crowd, someone would get hurt. He put his hands up and got in the van, followed by Charlie. Andrew, jumped in and shut the door.

Sam considered rushing him while he was shutting the door. If he was going to make a move, now would be the best time. But as if he read his mind, Andrew spun around and hit Sam in the head with his gun. He was out.

"Give me your phone," Andrew said to Charlie.

Charlie gazed worriedly at Sam, as he pulled out his phone and handed it to Andrew.

Andrew scrolled through the names until he saw Don. He dialed the number.

SSS

Don and Colby were the only ones left at the FBI office. They were finishing up some paperwork and talking about grabbing a beer, when Don's cell phone rang.

"Hey, Buddy, what's up?" Don answered.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Andrew said.

"Who is this?" Don asked as he paled.

Colby heard the tone of Don's voice and stopped putting his jacket on to look at his boss. "Trace?" he mouthed.

Don nodded and Colby started the process to trace where the call was coming from.

"The FBI has Vinnie Washington in custody. I want him released or your brother dies."

"We can't do that," Don protested. It was against policy to negotiate with hostage takers. Plus, he didn't even know who this Vinnie Washington guy was. His team hadn't made the arrest. Whoever had wouldn't let Don just stroll in and let their prisoner go.

"Then I guess you should say good-bye to your brother."

Andrew held the phone up to Charlie. "Don," Charlie whispered. He knew the rules about not negotiating and knew there was nothing Don could do. These guys would kill him—and Sam. But they would probably kill Sam anyway. He lost his train of thought as Andrew punched him in the stomach, making him gasp and grunt.

"Charlie!" Don shouted. He didn't know what had happened, but it sounded like his brother was in pain.

Andrew had grabbed the phone back. "If you change your mind, let Vinnie go by midnight tomorrow and we'll let your brother go. Otherwise, we kill him."

Andrew hung up and handed the phone up to Vinnie who threw it out the car window.

"You think he'll do it?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, you remember how protective he was of his little brother?" Andrew reminded Jake as he patted Charlie's face. Charlie tried to bat his hand away, but Andrew grabbed it and squeezed tightly until he heard a bone break. Charlie cried out. "You better behave. I know the other one was the one that did all the rescuing last time and he's down for the count."

Andrew let go of Charlie's hand and Charlie sank back away from him and leaned against the van wall. Andrew smiled at his compliance and turned toward the unconscious Sam. He decided what to do with this unexpected presence. He reached into Sam's pockets until he found his phone. He scrolled through the names until he found Dean. He was glad he remembered everyone's names.


	2. Aquarium

Dean was looking around the house and couldn't find any paperwork that would help him find out the identity of the ghost. It was starting to get dark so he decided to leave. Night time was when this ghost got active. He was just getting behind the steering wheel of his baby when his cell phone rang.

"Hey, Sammy, what'd you find out?" he asked after checking the caller ID.

"Sammy. That's cute. He looks to big to be a Sammy."

"Who is this?" Dean growled.

Andrew was almost afraid when he heard that. He remembered that guy from the robbery. His brother being held hostage was the only thing that had kept him in line. And that was the only thing that made his fear almost. Once again, he held all the cards.

"You don't need to know who this is. Meet me tomorrow at Grant's Park at 5 p.m. and we'll have a little chat." He hung up and handed the phone to Jake, who again threw it out the window. They didn't want anyone tracking them down. Jake then turned the van and headed to their true destination.

SSS

"Did you get a location on Charlie's phone?" Don yelled to Colby.

"About a mile east of CalSci," Colby answered as he finished putting on the jacket he had forgotten about moments earlier. Don and Colby headed out to the car to see if they could find Charlie.

"Anything more on the tracking?" Don asked.

"No. I think he disabled the GPS or something," Colby answered.

SSS

Jake pulled up to the old abandoned aquarium that had gone out of business years ago. They had rigged it up special just for Charlie, but now Sam would get the benefit, too.

Andrew dragged Sam out of the van and Jake guided Charlie with his gun. Charlie was cradling his hand. He was amazed at how much pain a broken hand could cause. They were thrown into a tank.

"What time is it?" Andrew asked Jake.

"It's midnight," Jake replied after looking at his watch.

"What are you going to do to us?" Charlie asked.

"I'm setting a timer. In twelve hours the tank will start filling with water. Twelve hours after that, it will be completely full and you'll be dead," Andrew answered almost cheerfully and he and Jake left. He let himself look back one more time on Charlie's frightened face. He was glad that he had thought to hook up a camera so they could later watch this as many times as they wanted.

SSS

Don was at his father's house.

"Charlie's been kidnapped, Dad," Don said. There was nothing to do but just come out and say it.

"What?"

"Some people want an FBI prisoner released. They want to trade for Charlie."

"Do you know who has him?" Alan asked. He was horrified. He knew that these things rarely turned out well for the hostage. But he also knew that Don would do whatever it took to get Charlie back.

"No. We've researched the prisoner and he doesn't have any known accomplices. He usually works alone and his father died a few years ago. No brothers or sisters."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Don answered honestly. "We can't make the trade. We have no idea who has him. The prisoner isn't talking."

SSS

Colby was back at FBI headquarters questioning Vinnie. He wasn't talking. He hadn't been talking for the last two hours.

"Agent Granger, there's someone here about the prisoner," an aide peeked her head in the door.

Colby got up and went out. Normally, he would have said that he didn't have the time to be disturbed. He wanted to find Charlie fast. But, this guy wasn't talking and maybe whoever was here could shed light on who would have taken Charlie.

"Agent Henricksen," Colby said as he recognized the agent who had come in on the bank robbery case due to two fugitives being involved somehow. "What can I do for you?"

"Vinnie Washington. He's the cousin of those two bank robbers, Jake and Andrew Morgan."

"Are you serious?" Colby asked.

"Why, what's wrong?" Henriksen asked.

"You remember Don's brother, Charlie?" Colby asked.

"Sure," Henriksen answered. The guy had annoyed him by claiming that Sam Winchester had saved his life and wasn't involved in the bank robbery except as a hostage.

"He's being held hostage and the kidnappers want Washington freed in exchange."

"Huh," Henriksen said. "I originally came out here because there was a Winchester sighting. This makes complete sense. They're probably in on your guy's kidnapping."

"You think?" Colby asked. He had never been sure what to believe after the last case. He had heard Charlie's story. But at the same time he had read the Winchesters' files.

"It's too big to be a coincidence," Henriksen said.

"Don," Colby said when he saw his boss getting off the elevator.

"Colby. Henriksen, what are you doing here?"

"He came here looking for the Winchesters again. Turns out Vinnie Washington is the bank robbers' cousin. Henriksen thinks the Winchesters are wrapped up in Charlie's disappearance."

"If they are, there's no place on earth they can hide," Don promised. He was glad that Sam had saved Charlie's life, but he had always felt that there had been an ulterior motive. He had read the files. Sam Winchester wouldn't do anything to help someone else if there wasn't something in it for him. He and Charlie had agreed to disagree and never to discuss the subject again. "How can we find them?"

"That's the million dollar question," Henriksen said. "These guys are good at evading the law."

SSS

Dean was driving around the city aimlessly. He had no leads but he couldn't just sit around waiting. He had to find Sam.

SSS

Sam didn't wake up until morning. He groaned and sat up.

"Are you OK?" Charlie asked anxiously. He had been really worried.

"Yeah. He really hit me hard," Sam observed. He looked around. "Where are we?"

"Old abandoned aquarium. It went out of business a few years ago."

"What time is it?" Sam asked, still groggy.

"8 in the morning."

"I was out a long time," Sam observed.

"Yeah." Charlie agreed.

"Do you know anything about what's going on?"

"They called my brother to do a hostage exchange with me for a prisoner. Don has until midnight tonight. They set a timer for this tank to start filling up with water by noon. It will be full at midnight."

Sam looked up. It was a high tank, going up three stories. "It looks like this tank is about 36 feet high."

"Yeah. That means the water is going to rise three feet every hour. We're going to have to start swimming before 2 PM. "

Sam figured he could tread water for ten hours, but he wondered if there would be a point to it.


	3. Manhunt

Dean was still driving around and listening to the police scanner at the same time. He heard that the FBI was looking for him, so he figured he should probably lay low until it was time to meet the bastards that took Sam. If he got caught by the FBI, he wouldn't be doing Sam much good. Normally if he knew the cops or FBI were looking for him in a particular place, he would leave town. But that wasn't really an option today. He would have to chance it back at the motel.

SSS

"Got 'em," Henricksen said, looking up from his phone. "The Winchesters are staying at their usual high class dive type place and using their usual stupid rock aliases. I knew that was how I would eventually track them down. They are so precise with everything else, but against all reason stick with the rock aliases."

"Let's go," Don said. He hoped the Winchesters could and would help him find Charlie. He only had twelve hours left on the clock.

SSS

"The water's starting," Charlie stated unnecessarily.

"At least it's not too cold," Sam answered back. He had been afraid it would be ice cold, but this water felt around 65 degrees. If it had been fifty or below they might not have had to worry about drowning as hypothermia would have set in way before that point.

SSS

Dean had decided to chance a quick trip to Grant's Park. He had wanted to get a lay of the land before his meeting. When he was returning to the hotel he saw Don Eppes and Henriksen. He kept on driving and hoped they wouldn't notice his car.

SSS

"They're not here," Don said again. He had pinned all of his hopes on an interview with the Winchesters.

"They didn't leave much in the way of clues either," Colby added.

"We'll find them," Henriksen said. He refused to believe that he wouldn't. He had been hunting for the Winchesters for a while.

"Maybe we should just concentrate on the Morgans," Don decided. They were probably the ones behind the kidnapping. It was their cousin that was being demanded.

"No, the Winchesters are the key," Henriksen argued.

"Why don't you concentrate on the Winchesters, while we look for the Morgans," Colby suggested. "That way we'll find Charlie either way."

"Good idea," Don said.

SSS

Sam and Charlie had been treading water for a couple of hours. Charlie was flagging. Sam could see it. "Keep going," Sam encouraged.

"What's the point?" Charlie asked. "I have a feeling that even if Don gives into these guys they have no intention of letting us go."

Sam knew that too. "But, I bet Don's looking for you. And I know Dean's looking for me. They won't rest until they find us. With the two of them looking, there's no way we won't be rescued. But we have to stay alive as long as we can."

"OK," Charlie said, and somehow gathered strength to go on.

SSS

It was 4:00. Dean went to Grant's Park. He hid in a stand of trees near where he was supposed to meet Sam's kidnappers. They had given him no clue of who they were or what they wanted. He would wait until they showed. He hoped he would recognize them and be able to formulate a plan from there.

SSS

Andrew and Jake arrived at the park about a half an hour before their rendez-vous with Dean. "I'm going to go drive around the park. You find a place to hide in the trees and take Dean out when he gets here. Keep track of where the van is and shoot him so you can run to the van and hopefully we'll be off before anybody sees you."

"Sounds good." Jake trusted his brother. His brother would screw anybody else over, but he had always looked after Jake. And to a lesser extent, Vinnie. He had always said nothing mattered more than family. Of course money came a close second.

He ran around to the trees. He was planning on finding a good vantage point to wait for Dean, but when he walked to the edge of the clearing, he found himself confronted with the man himself, pointing a gun at him. He didn't even have his weapon out.

"I remember you," Dean said, immediately recognizing one of the jerks from the bank robbery. He remembered how much he hated those guys for instantly recognizing his one weakness and using it to their advantage. They had made sure that one of their men was holding a gun on Sam the entire time. Of course, they had double-crossed him in the end.

"Do you?" Jake asked, stalling for time. He could only hope that Andrew would notice the situation and come in to save the day.

"Where's my brother?" Dean said in the low tone he observed for those he considered a threat to Sam.

Andrew was driving by and saw Jake standing at the edge of the stand of trees. He was in a defensive position and appeared to be talking to someone. Andrew realized that they had underestimated Dean. He had had the same plan that they had, but had arrived earlier. He parked and circled around so he could approach Dean from behind.

Jake could see Andrew coming around behind Dean. Because he thought he was saved he made a mistake. "Dead."

Dean pulled the trigger. He remembered how cruel these guys had been and knew they had no use for Sam. They had just used his phone to get to him so they could get their revenge for the botched bank job. He had no reason to think Jake was lying about Sam being dead and in his anger he just pulled the trigger. He knew that Sam wouldn't have approved. He had that pesky 'no killing humans' rule. But Dean didn't care. Sam was dead.

"No!" Andrew yelled from behind Dean as he saw the scene unfold before him.

Dean swung around, but Andrew was right there and hit Dean over the head with his gun. He wasn't going to kill him. Not yet. He had killed his little brother right in front of him. Now, Dean was going to have to watch Sam die. He dragged Dean to the van and shoved Dean in the back. He quickly jumped in the driver's side as people started to gather in this abandoned part of the park having been attracted by the sound of the gunshot. He was off before anyone was able to get a good description of the van.


	4. Flagging Spirits

"Where would they take them?" Henricksen asked.

They had been interrogating one of the bank robbers that they had actually caught from the ill-fated heist.

"I don't know. Obviously they didn't share everything with us, like the plan to doublecross us all."

"Any information you can give us," Don said. "It pans out, we'll make sure you get all the extra privileges you want and I will personally go to testify on your behalf at your parole hearing."

"I think I know something, but I'm going to need a bit more."

"Like what?" Don asked.

"A get out of jail free card."

"Can't do it," Don said and left the room. He didn't have time for this, but he had a feeling it wouldn't take long to break this guy.

Henricksen joined him outside. "I can't believe he still claims to not know the Winchesters."

Don rolled his eyes. "You need to get off of that. All I care about right now is my brother."

"Which is probably why you shouldn't be working this case," Henricksen countered.

Don looked at his watch. "We have six hours left. If we don't find Charlie by then, I guess you can do anything you want." Don couldn't believe he had just admitted that Charlie might die tonight. He slammed open the door out to the bullpen to try to cool off before going back to the prisoner. He couldn't blow this. If he did he would never be able to face his father again.

SSS

Dean woke up just after the van pulled to a halt and Andrew opened the back door. Dean found himself facing a gun. "Why don't you just kill me already?" he asked. With Sam dead, he just didn't care anymore.

"I want you to watch your brother die like I had to watch mine die," Andrew answered.

"Sam's still alive?" Dean asked afraid to believe it.

"For now. Get out," he said gesturing with his gun.

Dean gladly did so. If he was going to watch Sam die, he was obviously being taken to him. He looked at the shabby hotel in front of him. Just the kind of place they normally stayed at.

Andrew handed Dean a key. "Straight ahead. Open the door."

Dean planned to open the door and then take out this bozo and rescue Sam. He hoped it would be that easy. He opened the door to an empty room and felt Andrew prodding him in. He needed to do what Andrew said until he saw Sam with his own eyes. "Where is he?"

Instead of receiving an answer, Dean felt himself being tazed. He was still conscious, but he fell to the floor. He felt himself being lifted onto a chair. His hands were behind him and well on their way to being tied up before he regained his faculties. Crap. This was going to make it harder to rescue Sam. But, he was left with a bigger problem in the fact that he didn't appear to be here. "You lied. Sam's dead." Dean said. But now he really didn't understand why the guy just hadn't killed him.

"Nope," Andrew said as he shoved a gag in Dean's mouth. "But he's not here. I set up a camera. You can watch him die from a distance." He turned on the TV and Dean saw Sam and that Charlie kid in a tank rapidly filling with water. "it's 8:00. They have about four hours left. Sorry I don't have any popcorn," Andrew laughed as he exited the room. Then he remembered that Jake was dead. He would be back a couple of hours after midnight. Long enough for Dean to witness the death and truly feel the loss. Then he would kill him.

SSS

Charlie was flagging. Sam was tired himself. The water was feeling not so not cold anymore. They had been treading water for over eight hours, but he was in better shape. "I'll give you a rest," Sam said.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Turn around and I'll support you," Sam offered as he closed the distance between them.

"I can't let you do that," Charlie protested.

"Looks like we have less than three hours left, anyway. I can last."

Charlie wasn't exactly cheered by that thought, but he allowed Sam to take support his weight as he rested his tired limbs. His hand was still throbbing and the treading of water hadn't been helping. He was glad to rest it, but sobered by the thought that the pain might be permanently stopped in a matter of a couple of hours.

SSS

There was no sound coming from the TV, but Dean had been watching Sam and Charlie tread water. They hadn't been speaking to each other. They both looked so tired. Charlie more so than Sam. Then, Dean saw a short exchange take place and watched as Charlie slipped into Sam's arms for a rest. Dean expected nothing less of Sam, but hoped it didn't cost him his life.

SSS

Don had finally come to an agreement with the scumbag sitting in front of him. They would transfer him to a minimum security prison if they could save Charlie based on his information.

"When we were casing the bank and figuring out escape routes and everything, Andrew noticed the abandoned aquarium. He said it would probably make a good place to hold someone or kill them. If that's still abandoned you may want to check that out."

Henricksen looked to Don and Colby. "It's still abandoned," they both say at once as they all head for the door. They only had an hour left.

SSS

Dean had been working on the ropes. They were tied really well, but Dean wasn't giving up. Not with Sam's life on the line. He finally felt them start to give. But he also saw that the water was almost to the top. He didn't have much time at all. Sam's head was almost touching the top of his tank.


	5. Out of Time

"Charlie, can you tread on your own. I want to see if anything happens if I push up on the cover." He knew it was a long shot, but it would certainly be stupid not to try.

"Yeah, sure," Charlie said. He also didn't figure that it would work, but they were kind of out of other options. Plus he felt majorly guilty that Sam had been supporting him for so long.

Sam pushed up. As he expected nothing happened.

Charlie decided to give up. What difference did it make if he died now or in fifteen minutes. He stopped treading and started going under.

Sam dove in after Charlie and pulled him back up. His father had always told him to hang on as long as you could. Even if you thought there was no hope, you hung on. Help could always come at the very last second.

SSS

Don, Colby, and Henricksen were speeding towards the aquarium with sirens blaring. Don checked his watch. It was five minutes until midnight. They pulled into the parking lot and split up. Running into different entrances.

SSS

Dean was finally free. But there was only an inch of air left in that tank. He was torn between trying to get to Sam and watching him. He didn't even know where Sam was. That tank would be full in a matter of minutes. He was transfixed.

SSS

Colby ran into a room and saw a large tank. He saw Charlie and Sam Winchester toward the top of the three story tank. Sam was holding Charlie up. Sam turned and saw him. He saw Sam say something to Charlie. Colby looked up. He saw the stairs and ran to get to the top while he yelled, "Don, I found them!" at the top of his lungs.

SSS

Sam turned and saw someone. "Charlie, I think we might be saved."

Charlie turned and saw Colby. "it's Colby." But Charlie was afraid it was too late. Colby was racing to the top, but the lid was probably locked. The last of the tank filled up and they were now officially drowning.

SSS

Don heard Colby yelled and raced in that direction. Apparently Henricksen had heard too and they both ended up entering the room at the same time. Don had set his alarm for midnight and it was just going off. He saw Charlie and Sam in a full tank of water. He looked up and saw Colby trying to figure out how to get the lid off. He saw that Sam was supporting Charlie. He wondered how long Sam had been doing swimming for two. Charlie was a hiker so most of his muscles were in his legs. He hardly had any arm muscles at all to help him tread water.

Don shook his head. What did that matter. He pulled out his gun and yelled at Henricksen to get out of the room and he shot at the tank, hoping it would shatter. It did. Water flooded the room as Don backed out the door himself. The last thing he saw was Sam and Charlie about to hit the cement wall. Sam swung around at the last moment to make sure that he took the brunt of the impact and not Charlie.

SSS

Dean watched as the blonde man ran up the stairs and tried to figure out how to get the lid off. "Come on. Come on," Dean pleaded.

Then he saw Don run in and shoot. He breathed, not having realized he had been holding his breath. Apparently if Sam couldn't breathe, he wasn't going to either. He saw Sam take the hit, and they eventually came to a rest on the floor as the water flowed out the door to somewhere.

"Is he OK?" Dean yelled.

SSS

Don and Henriksen ran into the room when the water stopped flowing out. "Charlie!" Don yelled.

Colby had managed not to get swept into the water by grabbing the handle on the staircase. He raced down the steps.

Charlie coughed. "I'm OK. Sam?"

Henriksen was checking for a pulse. "He's alive," he announced as he pulled out a set of cuffs.

Sam coughed and sat up.

"Sam Winchester. You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent," Henricksen continued. Nobody interrupted him until he was through. As he started to cuff Sam behind the back, though, Don protested.

"He needs to go to the hospital." Don had no idea if that was true or not. But he had seen Sam supporting Charlie and figured that he was the only reason Charlie was alive right now. The least he could do was make sure he was OK. "Colby go get a couple of blankets."

"We're coddling fugitives now?" Henriksen asked in disbelief.

"You've been tracking this guy for months. Is a couple of hours going to make that much of a difference?" Don asked.

Colby came back in with the blankets and threw one around Sam while handing Don the other for Charlie.

"Thanks," Sam said. He was freezing.

Don had already called for an ambulance before they got there. He had heard the sirens and now the paramedics were there checking over Sam and Charlie.

"We should bring them to the hospital. This one has a bump on the head and a nasty bruise on his back," one of them said indicating Sam. "How long were you two treading water."

"Twelve hours," Charlie answered.

"Really?" the paramedic asked looking at Charlie in disbelief.

"I had some help," he admitted, embarrassed.

SSS

Dean watched as they all left wherever they were. Sam was OK. He was in custody, but he was OK. He figured he'd better hightail it out of there before Andrew came back for the second half of his job.

SSS

Andrew checked his watch and grinned. Sam and Charlie would be dead. Dean had watched his brother die. There was nothing he could do to bring Jake back, but he was avenging him. He decided to go to the aquarium to make sure they were dead. He hadn't actually tested the tanks. If they were still alive he would just shoot Charlie and figure out how to kill Sam slowly.

He saw flashing lights in front of the aquarium as he drove by. He kept going. He didn't know how they had found them and he wasn't sure if they found them in time. He figured he would go back to the motel and watch the tape. If Sam was dead it would be great to make Dean watch it again. He hoped they hadn't found the motel room.


	6. Hospital Rooms

Don walked into Charlie's hospital room. "How you doing, buddy?"

"I'm still cold, but other than that I'm OK. Thanks to Sam."

"What happened?" Don asked. "How did you get mixed up with Sam and these guys again?" The way Don said it Charlie knew it wasn't an accusation. Don just wanted to know what had happened.

"I was leaving for the evening. I saw Sam on the sidewalk. I don't know what he was doing there. Anyway, the next thing I knew those bank robbers were there and knocking Sam out and pushing us into the van. They called you and then broke my hand.

Don seethed with anger that they would hurt Charlie. "So, Sam wasn't in on the kidnapping."

"Obviously not. He wouldn't have stuck himself in a tank to drown," Charlie pointed out.

"Guess not," Don smiled, realizing the stupidity of the statement."

"Sam helped me. He held me up for a couple of hours when I couldn't swim anymore. I gave up a few minutes before you got there, figuring it was hopeless, and he wouldn't let me. He pulled me back up. How can this guy be the cold-hearted killer you guys claim he is?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," Don admitted. He had seen the file and if Sam was guilty of half the charges he needed to go away for a long time. On the other hand, Don would forever be grateful for Charlie. "I'm going to talk to him," he decided.

SSS

Andrew walked into the motel room and immediately saw the empty chair and the ropes on the floor. He rewound the tape and watched what should have been the last few minutes of Sam's life, only to see him being rescued at the last minute. They had both gotten away. He couldn't allow that. Jake deserved better.

SSS

"Thank you," Don said when he walked into Sam's room. He didn't know what else he was going to say, but he had to say that.

"Is Charlie OK?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, he's going to be fine. Sam, I can't figure out how to reconcile your file with the fact that you've saved my brother's life twice."

"Sometimes things aren't as they seem," Sam answered cryptically.

"But most of the time they are." Sam and Dean looked up to see Henriksen enter the room. "Aren't planning on helping him escape are you, Eppes?"

"I've never helped a prisoner escape and I'm not about to start now. What I am going to do is get him a lawyer," Don decided.

"Whatever. You can't be part of this case."

"Fine," Don said and left the room. He wanted to get that lawyer ASAP. Henriksen seriously had it in for this kid.

"Where's your brother?" Henriksen asked.

"I don't know," Sam answered honestly, although he seriously doubted that Dean had ditched town while he was missing.

"Was he in on throwing you into the tank?"

"What? No!"

"Look, we know he beat you in St. Louis. You said so yourself," Henriksen reminded him.

Sam had said that. It had been the only way to get Zack out of trouble. He just remained silent now.

"We figure he set the fire that killed your girlfriend, too."

"That's not true," Sam said. Jessica's death was his fault. Not Dean's.

"Are you scared of him? Does he threaten you to keep you in line?" Henriksen would love to make a deal with Sam to get to Dean. He wasn't so sure about Sam, but he knew Dean was pure evil.

"I'm going to wait for my lawyer," Sam said, knowing that Henriksen had to stop questioning him once he invoked his right to a lawyer. He didn't feel like talking to him anymore.

"Fine," Henriksen said. He thought maybe the lawyer could convince Sam to flip on Dean.

SSS

Dean found out that Sam was at the hospital. He knew they would be transferring him to the federal prison to await trial soon. He also knew that his dad's old marine buddy, Deacon, was a guard at that prison. He decided to call him.

"Deacon, it's Dean Winchester, John Winchester's son," Dean said when Deacon answered his phone. He wasn't sure what he expected from this guy. He had met him a few times when he was a kid. This was the only person from his pre-hunting life that John kept in touch with.

"Dean, I have an order for a transfer tomorrow for Sam Winchester. Tell me that's a different Sam Winchester."

"Afraid not," Dean said. "People don't understand hunting and sometimes it looks like other things," Dean said.

"You don't need to explain to me," Deacon said. "I know all about your life."

Dean had always wondered about that. He had once asked his dad if he had ever had to save Deacon from anything, which would explain why he would have told him about hunting. His dad had told him he hadn't saved him from anything supernatural, but he had saved his life in Vietnam. It made him feel connected in a way nothing else could.

"Is there anything you can do to help Sam escape? I know it's asking a lot…," Dean said. He couldn't believe he had called. This was too much to ask. Deacon was a friend. You didn't do this to friends.

"Actually, I've been thinking about it since I saw the name on the transfer sheet. I was hoping you'd call because I have a plan, but I'll need your help."

SSS

The next morning, Charlie and Sam were both released from the hospital, Charlie to go home and Sam to go to jail.

"Your ride's here," Henriksen said when he came to get Sam.

Sam looked up surprised to see his dad's old friend, Deacon. He didn't let on that he knew him, though.

"Come on," Deacon said roughly and started steering Sam towards the elevator.

"I want to go with you," Henricksen said.


	7. Nothing Ever Goes as Planned

The next morning, Charlie and Sam were both released from the hospital, Charlie to go home and Sam to go to jail.

"Your ride's here," Henriksen said when he came to get Sam.

Sam looked up surprised to see his dad's old friend, Deacon. He didn't let on that he knew him, though.

"Come on," Deacon said roughly and started steering Sam towards the elevator.

"I want to go with you," Henricksen said.

"What?" Deacon asked. This would not work well with his plan at all.

"Him and his brother have a knack of escaping police custody. His brother's on the loose. He's probably got a plan to bust Sam loose."

Deacon couldn't argue with that since it was his plan. He also couldn't think of any reason to tell Henricksen he couldn't go. If he did he would definitely lose his job when all this was over with. As it was it was pretty touch and go anyway. "Alright," he said agreeably. Dean would just have to figure something else out while Sam was in jail. He felt like a jerk, though. Their dad had saved his life on more than one occasion and he was just turning his back on them now.

Henricksen's cell phone rang and he answered it. "Henricksen."

Deacon pushed the button on the elevator while Henricksen was on the phone. "You're kidding," he heard.

Henricksen hung up the phone. "Dean Winchester's been sighted on the west end of town. Guess he had no plans to bust you out at all," Henricksen said, knowing the transfer to the jail was going in the opposite direction.

Deacon knew that too and knew it had to be a false sighting. Dean was supposed to be waiting for them at a particular curve and Deacon had told him to be there at dawn so nobody would see him getting into position. "So, are you coming with us or what?" he asked as he shepherded Sam onto the elevator.

"No, I'm going to get his brother," he said and raced in the opposite direction.

"I hope Dean gets away," Sam said when the elevator doors closed.

"Not your brother. He's on the east end of town along our route."

"Do you mean you're going to let me go?" Sam asked. He couldn't ask this of one of dad's friends. It would be too great of a risk.

"Yeah. I owe your dad."

They arrived in the parking garage. "They have cameras down here so I have to chain you up in the back like any other prisoner," Deacon said.

"I understand," Sam said.

SSS

Andrew got into position to wait for the prison transfer. He knew that it would be happening today. He might not have any idea where Dean was, but he knew where Sam would be shortly. Even though, he didn't know it, Dean was only ¼ mile down the road from him.

SSS

"Don, I need to talk to Sam," Charlie said.

"He's been transferred," Don said.

"I know. They have visiting hours, don't they?" Charlie pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but I don't think it's a good idea," Don said.

"Why not?"

"I think you have Stockholm Syndrome or something."

"How can I have Stockholm Syndrome? Sam wasn't the one who kidnapped me. He was kidnapped with me," Charlie argued.

"He's a dangerous criminal," Don said. He was grateful to Sam for saving Charlie—twice. But, he still wasn't sure about him.

"He'll be in jail. What could happen?" Charlie asked, interrupting Don's thoughts.

"OK." He decided it would be better for Charlie to get this out of his system and with him there to see if he could get any better read on him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we'll go now. You can probably talk to him before they take him to his cell." Being a federal agent had its advantages.

SSS

Andrew saw the prison van driving toward him. He assumed Sam was in it and he threw out the special extra-sharp nails he had brought for the purpose. They did the trick and the van began to careen over the road.

Andrew jumped out into the road as the driver/guard was getting out of the van and drawing his gun. Andrew shot him in the center of the head and ran up to him and grabbed the keys from him.

SSS

Sam was sitting in the back when he felt the van begin to swerve. He had thought that Deacon was just going to stop and hand him over to Dean, but maybe they needed to do this so that Deacon wouldn't get in any trouble.

Then he heard a gunshot and he knew that couldn't be right. His fears were confirmed when the back door of the van opened and he saw Andrew standing in front of him.

SSS

Dean heard the screeching tires from his car. He quickly pulled out and raced towards the sound. As soon as he was on the road he saw the van coming to a stop. He also saw Andrew killing Deacon and grabbing the keys. He was just jumping out of the Impala when Andrew got the door to the van opened and was disappearing inside.

He ran to the van and found Andrew sitting on the little bench next to Sam with his gun on his forehead. "Well, you killed my little brother in front of me. Now, I'm going to return the favor."

Sam wished there was something he could do, but with his hands chained together and the chain hooked to the floor there wasn't much he could do.

Dean was pointing his gun at Andrew. He had pulled it out from his pants as he was running up to the van. "Let him go," Dean said.

"Drop the gun," Andrew countered.

"Yeah, right." That wasn't going to happen. Sam was as good as dead. The only reason he wasn't dead yet was because Andrew wanted to be able to get out of there alive.

SSS

Don and Charlie drove up to the scene. "Wait in the car," Don yelled and jumped out of the car. "FBI. Drop your guns!" He had no idea what had happened but he could see the guard dead on the ground and two suspects with guns.

Dean was unsure what to do at this point. If he dropped his gun, there would still be a threat of a gun pointed at Andrew to keep Sam alive. He didn't want to depend on someone else for that, though. In the split second that he was thinking all of this, Andrew had turned his gun away from Sam and was aiming it at Don. Both Don and Dean pulled their triggers at the same time. Don had gone for a leg shot, but Dean had aimed for the chest. Both hit their marks.

Charlie heard the shots. "Don!" he yelled and ran over to the van.

"Stay back, Charlie," Don ordered. "Put the gun down," he again told Dean.

Charlie had ignored Don and was all the way up to the van. He had heard two shots and he just needed to make sure with his own eyes that his brother was OK.

If Dean had taken the time to think, he wouldn't have done it. But, he was desperate. If they both got arrested, there was no way they were going to be able to escape. He jumped behind Charlie and put the gun to his head. "Unlock my brother."

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked, horrified.

Dean was beginning to wonder that himself, but he had started this course of action, he would have to finish it. Unless Don tried to call his bluff. He obviously couldn't shoot Charlie.

"Let him go and put the gun down."

"I'll let your brother go if you let my brother go," Dean countered.

Don started towards the back of the van.

"Uh uh. Put the gun down first," Dean directed.

Don put the gun down. " I have a key in my pocket," he said. He didn't want to spook this guy.

"Get it with one hand," Dean said.

Don did so and closed the distance to Sam. He unlocked the cuffs.

"Sam, lock him up," Dean said.

"Dean," Sam protested.

They heard sirens in the distance.

"Just hurry, Sam," Dean said in the voice that let Sam knew he was irritated with him for arguing with him and he was the big brother and he was right.

Sam pushed Don down and locked him up, grabbing the key from him in the process. Dean let Charlie go and Dean and Sam exited the vehicle shutting and locking the door behind them. They ran to the car and raced away from the sirens.

SSS

"Well, now do you believe me about them?" Don asked.

"It's weird," Charlie admitted. "I didn't feel like Dean was going to shoot me, though."

Don rolled his eyes. He just really hoped Charlie never met up with the Winchesters again.

SSS

Henricksen was livid when he found out it was a false sighting. By the time he got to the prison van, the guard was dead, the two Eppes brothers were locked in the van, and there was not a Winchester in sight. He wanted to stab everyone in the vicinity in frustration but settled for yelling a blue streak at Eppes.

SSS

"We got Deacon killed," Sam lamented that night.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam."

"Did you kill the other guy?" Sam asked, suddenly remembering what Andrew had said about watching Dean kill his little brother.

"Yeah. He made the mistake of telling me you were dead. I lost it and shot him."

"What's with you lately? You shoot someone in cold blood, you take an innocent guy hostage? This isn't what Dad taught us."

"I shot someone who said that they had killed you. And I had no intention of hurting Charlie. You know that," Dean yelled angrily.

"I know that. But he didn't. He was probably really scared."

"It only lasted a minute, Sam. He's fine. I didn't hurt him. Can we just drop this?" The truth was he had scared himself over the last couple of days. He had done things he wouldn't have believed of himself to save Sam and according to his father he had some serious Sam saving to do in the future. He just hoped he would be up to the challenge.

The End

A/N Sorry I killed Deacon, but Andrew didn't seem like the type to just knock someone unconscious. he was pretty vicious. Also, I realize that Charlie wouldn't come up to the van with unsecured suspects and that Dean wouldn't have taken him hostage, but I was really stuck as to how to get them away.


End file.
